- Having time to read - I've always had a hard time finding time to read at home in the evenings or on weekends, so I haven't read much. However, I do really enjoy reading. When I take the bus, I have 30 minutes available before and after work and have been able to read more books over the past six months than I had in the previous few years.
- Being able to walk - I love to walk but, like reading, it can be hard to fit in time and a reason to go for a walk from home. However, I get to walk every day when I take the bus. If I don't want to walk far, I can take a route that goes by where we live, or if I want to walk longer, I can take another route and have a 10-15 minute walk home in the afternoon. There's another route that takes me by Pike Place Market and gives me about a 20 minute walk home. It's a great time to get outside, see the city, talk to people on the phone, and get a little exercise on my way home.
- Environment - By not driving, there's an extra half ton of greenhouse gases that our car didn't release into the air.
- Money - Over the past six months, I've saved about 1000 miles of wear and tear on our car and about $100 in gas. Not a ton of money, but it adds up.
- Less stress - Seriously, people here drive so slow and are always in the way. That just doesn't bother me on the bus.
In fairness, riding the bus isn't perfect and it's not for everyone. Here are a few of the things that annoy me about it.
- It's slower - It takes about 40 minutes to get to work by bus, including walking time and I can drive to work in less than 20 minutes. I don't see the extra time as wasted, though, since I can spend it reading or walking. But, it is nice to shorten the time spent in transit. Sometimes I'll drive if I'm running late and some days if I just want to get home at the end of the day I'll wish I'd driven.
- I can miss it - This doesn't happen nearly as often anymore, now that I've found One Bus Away, but I sometimes try to catch the bus from work and don't give myself enough time and end up missing the bus. Usually this isn't a big deal, but it's especially frustrating if I'm working late when the buses don't run as often.
- I don't get it all to myself - When I first started riding, it was always full and I always had to stand. However, after gas prices dropped, seats opened up and I can always find a seat. Just, sometimes, it'd be nice to have the whole row to myself.
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4 comments:
this was a five-star post until it didn't have a conclusion. not that I needed one really; conclusions are hard for me to write because they seem so unnecessary. but as a reader you do feel a bit left hanging or abruptly dismissed when one is absent.
by the way this was dac, posting from Karen's account.
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